Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes spoke with reporters following the 17-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. He shared his thoughts on the devastating injury to Rashee Rice in the aftermath of a first-quarter interception.
“I mean, I didn’t know exactly what happened because, obviously, I was trying to make the tackle, but I know Rashee (Rice) and how tough he is, so him being down like that. I knew it wasn’t good,” said Mahomes. “So all we do is pray that the X-rays in my eyes and stuff like that are better than what it looked, but I mean, next man up until he’s until he’s back.”
As he tried to make the tackle, Mahomes fell into Rice’s knee, accidentally rolling him up and taking him out for the rest of the game and likely more this season. He was visibly upset with the scenario but remained optimistic that Rice could recover and teammates would step up in his place on the field.
“If a guy stepped up and filled as good as they can the role that he has in our offense, which is a big one, and so all we can do now is kind of go back to the basics and try to get guys and opportunities to succeed,” said Mahomes. “I thought Travis (Kelce) did a great job of stepping up and making plays. He always does, but at the end of the day, we got the win.”
Travis Kelce returned to a familiar role as the primary target after Rice’s injury and could take on more targets while the second-year receiver is out of the lineup.